It was a pretty relaxed morning and we got to do yoga during day camp! I still get the little songs randomly stuck in my head and I actually felt the workout the next day. It was so fun! It was amazing how engaged the kids were during it also - I think it was the most focused I had ever seen the day campers. I don't know how the yoga instructor did it, but I wouldn't have minded to have a small portion of the power she seemed to have to bring home with me. We also helped the day campers make paper plate masks that morning.
After lunch, we went to Central Park for field games. It was nice to be outside and teach the kids some new games too. It was still strange being in a huge and beautiful park in the middle of a busy city. When we got back to the church our group sang Camp's "Song of Blessing" (a song that the staff sings every week at closing worship) for the kids and we said our goodbyes (one day camper seriously wanted to go with us - I actually thought that he might sneak into the van for awhile). Then we got held up for a bit while we waited for the Police Dept. to move the cars that had parked us in - I just don't get why it is okay to park where ever you like in NYC. (It is kinda like a high school parking lot when it is snowy outside, but all the time and adults are boxing you in)
That night we drove to Koinonia in Highland Lake, NY. (It is the camp that our camp director used to work at so I had heard many stories set there and now I could see it in real life!) We explored the camp a bit (they had baby pigs and a goat and a pretty lake) and then the campers made a yummy dinner! It was so strange to be surrounded by nature only a few hours from the city, but the camp was beautiful. I would have loved to stay there for a longer amount of time. We also sang some songs and chatted all together. It was a great last night of our trip!
The next morning we left camp super early to start our long trip back to Iowa. I started the drive and kinda freaked out when we drove by the Scranton exit (we didn't stop to buy any paper though :( ). I also hit a bird with my windshield that morning... (that had never happened to me before) We also drove away from a gas station with the gas thing still in our car... opps! It was hilarious though!
Eventually, we finally made it back home and my daddy, little sister, and brother were waiting for me in the church parking lot. We unloaded the vehicles and said goodbye before going home to enjoy showers and sleeping in real beds (not that the floor hadn't been amazing all week).
Overall, the trip was probably the best week ever (I say that a lot, but seriously, it was amazing). It was great to bond as a group while experiencing a new city, doing some service work, praising God, making our own meals, meeting new people, and traveling. New York City was such an exciting place and I think I'm still reflecting on all of the fun that we had while there! It was such a unique experience and one that I will probably still be trying to explain the true greatness of to other people for months. Also I'm still laughing about some of the inside jokes we shared. It was an exciting and unforgettable learning experience that really taught me a lot about people and culture as well as gave me an opportunity to work in a place very different from home. I got to travel to places that I had only seen in movies/tv (now I can say "Hey, I've been there!"). I think the only thing I would change is that it was not available to me when I was a camper and maybe make the drive a tad bit shorter (but really a lot of funny moments happened during the drive). I'm very thankful that I got to be a part of the Road Rulz staff. It was a truly unforgettable week and I'm pretty lucky to have gotten to experience it all. I would sign up again next year without hesitation if they would take me!
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